


Clean

by lordjohnmarbury



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Drabble, Gen, tw: mysophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-15
Updated: 2015-09-15
Packaged: 2018-04-20 23:58:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4807196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lordjohnmarbury/pseuds/lordjohnmarbury
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabble in which I manage to link Sam being nuts about dental hygiene to him leaving the White House.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Clean

Sam has always hated dirt. As a child, he never wants to play in the mud with the other kids. In college he grimaces whenever he looks over to his roommate’s half of the dorm and sees piles of old socks and sweaty t shirts, and the empty beer cans and pizza boxes littering his desk. 

He wears a new crisp, clean, white shirt to work every day; he keeps a couple in the office in case of all nighters. He brushes his teeth, flosses and rinses with mouthwash after every meal. Sometimes he pictures bacteria crawling over his hands and runs to the nearest bathroom to scrub them clean. 

But sometimes, no matter how hard he scrubs, he still can’t erase that image of growing mould and creeping germs. He begins to think that maybe some dirt can never be removed. You can’t cure MS. The plaque on his brain keeps on growing. You can’t undo the lie. 

California may be polluted, but looking out at the Pacific and feeling the salty wind whip through his hair and against his face, Sam can only think that this feels clean.


End file.
